1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a retractor to retract an exposure device from an image forming position to a retracted position and an image forming apparatus incorporating the retractor.
2. Related Art
It is widely known that, in order to form an electrostatic latent image on a surface of the photoconductor that functions as a latent image bearer, image forming apparatuses include an exposure device, for example, having multiple light emitting elements in an axial direction of a photoconductor provided therein.
The exposure device of the image forming apparatus is designed to move between an image forming position at which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor and a retracted position at which the exposure device stays out of the way when replacing the photoconductor and a developing device also included in the image forming apparatus.
As a first link unit pivots around a rotational support, a second link unit pivots in a counterclockwise direction around the rotational support via a connecting unit. Then, a support projection and a guide projection of the exposure device move upwardly away from a photoconductor drum along a guide slot and the exposure device moves from the image forming position toward the retracted position along the normal direction of the photoconductor drum. As the support projection moves along a curved part of the guide slot, the exposure device pivots, and thereof the position thereof changes. After the guide projection passes the curved part of the guide slot, the exposure device changes to a retracted attitude before reaching the retracted position.